Singer Songwriters: Come together, play your songs, talk about what inspires you, do something spontaneous, and get positive feedback from other Songwriters! Free! Bring your own instruments if possible. Ukelele lessons at 7:00 pm as well 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Inspire Life Studio is located at 938 West 8th Avenue, Denver, CO | 303-600-8543
Inspire Life Studio @ gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/events/1426580070969050/
* * * * *
Red River Songwriters’ Summer Camp – June 18th – 20th, 2015
Four years ago a group of like-minded songwriters decided to band together and start a small music festival in Red River, New Mexico. Equal parts scenic and sonic, The Red River Songwriters’ Festival has quickly grown into one of the premier events in the southwest for fans of storytelling troubadours. The core group — Walt Wilkins, Susan Gibson, Drew Kennedy, Kelley Mickwee, Josh Grider, and Brandy Zdan — recognized the potential in creating an event geared toward the discerning lover of lyric and melody, and a festival was born.
Before the festival— before the shows and the records and the radio— this journey began with one thing for each of them: a song. But where do these songs— songs that would go on to be recorded by both the artists mentioned above and some of the biggest names in American music— come from? How were they crafted? What goes into the process, from beginning to end, that eventually led to each one of these artists launching successful careers?
What: The Red River Songwriters’ Summer Camp
When: June 18-20, 2015
Where: Various Locations in scenic Red River, New Mexico
Who: Classes led by Walt Wilkins, Susan Gibson, Drew Kennedy, Kelley Mickwee, Josh Grider, Brandy Zdan, and Jana Pochop
Cost: $300 per person (food and lodging not provided).
It is with these questions in mind that the idea behind The Red River Songwriters’ Summer Camp came to fruition.
• If you’ve been wanting to start writing songs of your own but don’t know where to start, this event is for you.
• If you’ve been writing songs for a while and want to learn how to take the next step, whether that be a show or an album, this event is for you.
• If you’ve already taken a leap of faith and played shows of your own or recorded an album, yet you know you have room for improvement, this event is for you.
They’ll cover all the bases— the nuts and bolts of writing, the methods behind presenting your songs to an audience, the proper approach to bringing your songs to life in the studio, even the tricks of the trade when it comes to spreading the word (Jana Pochop will share her expertise when it comes to the murky world of self-promotion and booking).
All of the workshop leaders are troubadours in the true sense, touring nationally year-round. They’ve had songs cut by artists like the Dixie Chicks, Eric Church, Pam Tillis, Kenny Rogers, Jim Lauderdale, Kellie Pickler, Lori McKenna, Jason Eady, and Ricky Skaggs. They want to share their stories and collective knowledge with you so that you might be able to get what you’re looking for out of your craft— whether that’s to write a song that stands the test of time, hold a captive audience, record an album, or simply learn from a group of people who have dedicated their lives to music. There will be classes, one-on-one discussions, and performance opportunities for attending songwriters, along with an evening set or two from your fearless leaders.
Please join us in Red River June 18 – 20, 2015!
Website: http://www.redriversongs.com/summercamp
Email redriversummercamp@gmail.com to reserve your spot. Please include your full name and number of attendees. We will be in touch about your payment shortly.
* * * * *
COMBO’s Third Annual Songwriting Contest Now Open
Hear ye, hear ye: The Colorado Music Business Organization announces its Third Annual Songwriting Contest! Winning songs will be submitted to *REAL* publishing companies. There will be NO CA$H prizes. Do you have a song you have written and Ten ($10) Dollars laying around not doing anything? Read on because this contest is for YOU!! Individual members who are currently up on their dues may submit one song at no charge; bands get free entry for two songs. The contest starts May 1st and will end on August 31st, 2015.
COMBO will put the top scoring songs on a compilation CD and hand deliver to publishers (that have agreed to accept them), along with a cover letter telling a little about COMBO and about each of the songs, like who the writers thought the song might be good for, i.e., this country song is good for Carrie Underwood. One compilation CD will be given out for each song to the songwriter(s). In other words, if you have five co-writers on the song, one of you will receive a CD which you may copy for the other writers. However, be cautioned – making copies to sell or to give out to other friends and/or family will be in violation of copyright laws. Please do not do that.
No songwriter judges – just people who might buy your music. The panel will be made up of a variety of people who still buy music. A Committee of five (5) judges, none of whom write songs but are music lovers will have the final decision. The reason for this is so that there will be no conflict of interest or an off-chance that someone will steal your song.
Failure to follow the following will disqualify your song: No “bad” words! If you wrote your song with a “must have” naughty word, please mute the word on the mp3 track and write (bleep!) on the lyric sheet (i.e. we will only accept songs for the contest that are “Radio Ready”), etc. Also, the entry fee must be paid by the end of the contest and received by September 5th, 2015.
Examples of judging criteria will consist of, but not be limited to: Do the lyrics ‘hit you in the heart? Does the melody bring out some emotion such as passion, solitude, love, excitement, danger? Do the lyrics make sense? Or make sense in the context of the melody? Are the lyrics different? Or do the lyrics copy lyrics from other songs that are already well known (you really don’t want to do that)? Would the song have a good chance of being placed in a movie, a television show, or in a commercial? Instrumentals are welcomed as many of the aforementioned shows are seeking music only songs.
The songs will be presented for judging “anonymously” – the judges will not know the name(s) of the songwriters, and will not know even the name of the song. Song submissions will be presented to the judges as a number. That way a judge cannot “play favorites”. Email confirmation of accepted entries will have our song number registration (i.e. Song #113). Names of the judging panel are confidential and will not be shared even with each other so that the judges can not communicate with each other to get opinions.
Songs are to be submitted as attachments to songcontest@coloradomusic.org in MP3 format so that contest staff may place the songs on Dropbox for each judge to listen from the privacy of their own homes. Please also attach a Lyric Sheet for each song.
The top rated songs will then be placed on the compilation CD. We will try to get 20 songs on but cannot promise that due to the length of the songs total.
songcontest@coloradomusic.org
Send your payment checks to:
COMBO
P.O. Box 18186
Denver CO 80218
Remember: If you are currently paid up on your dues, you get one song entry at no charge! Bands get two free entries!
[…] By Barb Dye […]